The Ann Richards Dinner has had many dynamic speakers in its storied history.

Among them have been County and State officials, Congressional Representatives, and a former United Nations Ambassador. All have left us with inspirational moments we will never forget.

The year 2015 marked a huge jump in the scope and style of the Ann Richards Dinner.

That year, Rep. Joaquin Castro, who was already on the national political radar, served as the keynote speaker with WFAA reporter Gloria Campos as the emcee.

In 2017, Barb Walters and Blondene Taite traveled to Austin to hear Keith Ellison speak at a Texas Democratic Party event. After they heard him, they knew that he had to be the speaker at the next Ann Richards Dinner.

“We were like teenage groupies begging him to come!” Barb recalls.

Bakari Sellers, a child of the civil rights movement, a rising star in the Democratic Party and a commentator for both CNN and MSNBC, kept the spark alive as the keynote for the 2018 ARD.

After years of famine at the voting booth, the Texas Democrats had a wealth of our own candidates on the ballot. Collin County shocked the Republican Party when our candidates came within close range of winning a state office.

In 2019, Samantha Power outlined a roadmap for the upcoming state and national elections at the ARD in Allen. Her no-nonsense approach sustained attendees and prepared us for the battle ahead in 2020 to restore our nation to its previous power and honor. As we prepare for November 3, we will take her words to heart.

Now in2020, we look forward to being energized by our Ann Richards Dinner speaker. Watch for an announcement on our speaker coming soon!

NOTE: This editorial is the second in a series. To read the first of the series on the
GOP Healthcare Lies, click
here.

There is a common lie that the GOP is the party of "fiscal responsibility" and "small government."

In order to be "fiscally responsible," a government needs to reduce its deficit and create a surplus. A surplus then pays down the debt. The only Presidents since 1960 to create a surplus have been Democrats. Johnson created a surplus in one of his four years. Clinton did three out of eight years.

So, it is a statistical fact that Democrats are more fiscally responsible than Republicans.

Then why do people believe this lie despite the evidence? Part of the reason is that Democrats don’t do a good job of pointing out the facts. But there is more.

Let me illustrate by summarizing a conversation I’ve had hundreds of times in Collin County.

Republican: "I’m a small government conservative."

Me: "What does that mean exactly?"

Republican: "I believe that government should be fiscally responsible."

Me: "Ok, that makes sense. What government programs would you cut?"

Republican: "We have to cut wasteful spending."

Me: "I understand. But you’re a smart person. What specific programs would you cut?"

Republican: "Well there’s a lot of people in the city on welfare taking advantage of

the system."

There you have it. There is a belief out there that millions of people are on welfare, not working when they could. Of course, if you probe further, most people believe that most welfare recipients are black.

An informative Huffington Post article:
Americans Are Mistaken About Who Gets Welfare states, “The numbers reflect a significant overestimation of the number of black Americans benefiting from the largest programs. Medicaid had more than 70 million beneficiaries in 2016, of whom 43 percent were white, 18 percent black, and 30 percent Hispanic. Of 43 million food stamp recipients that year, 36.2 percent were white, 25.6 percent black, 17.2 percent Hispanic and 15.5 percent unknown.

Another variation of this conversation ends like this:

Me: "I understand. But you’re a smart person. What specific programs would you cut?"

Republican: "I’m concerned about all these immigrants coming over the border

“We’ll just quickly note that illegal immigrants are broadly disqualified from

collecting benefits from government programs, according to U.S. Code,

with only limited exceptions."

Those exceptions are:

Emergency medical care (which includes emergency labor and delivery)

Emergency disaster relief that is provided for the short term and is not a cash payment

Limited immunizations and testing, and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases

Certain community programs, such as soup kitchens or crisis counseling, as specified by the Attorney General

Limited housing or community development assistance to those already receiving it in 1996

These are the only circumstances under which illegal immigrants can lawfully receive government assistance. Notably absent from this list is any type of Social Security benefits.

To repeat: Illegal immigrants cannot legally receive Social Security benefits, and Congress isn’t about to vote on legislation that would change that.

Lies are used to cover up something worse. The truth is that the ‘fiscal responsibility’ lie is clever cover for those are uncomfortable with the changing demographics of our nation but don’t want to admit it. It’s a clever lie that their base can use to cover their racist attitudes toward blacks and immigrants.

Don’t believe me? Try this line of questioning with the next ‘small government conservative’ you run into. Post your results in the comments section.

Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author

and do not necessarily represent the view or positions of CCDP.

LET'S THANK THE IOWA PRECINCT CHAIRS!

We need to break through some of the noise about the Iowa Caucus.

While we all regret the many delays and issues, one thing should stand out -- the Precinct Chairs of Iowa are the real heroes right now.

These thousands of hard working volunteers are the ones who convene and run the caucuses. Precinct Chairs ran hundreds of neighborhood caucuses in gyms across the state, just as it has always been done. This volunteer driven effort gives a caucus its transparency; everyone in the room knows who won.

This year, not only were the chairs given a new procedure (with three sets of totals to calculate instead of one), new and poorly tested technology, and were then inadequately supported by the state party. The Precinct Chairs did their job admirably -- the problem came in reporting their information up the food chain to the state party.

Despite the reporting hiccups, thousands of voters met at their local caucus and voted with their feet because volunteers and Precinct Chairs like some of you made things run smoothly on the ground.

Precinct Chairs are the backbone of the party, and no party ever has enough. The Collin County Democratic Party needs more precinct heroes! You have the opportunity to change your neighborhood and flip this county blue!

We are still hiring clerks and judges in anticipation of a record turnout in the 2020 Primary, especially for Election Day, March 3rd. These are paidpositions.

On Election Day, all workers are paid $12 per hour.

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﻿We are continuing to enlist clerks for Early Voting. Although the need is not as great, we do want to have some substitutes ready. We will send you the Training Schedule for both Election Law and Voting System Training when we confirm your appointment.

NOTE: It is very important that you attend training, especially because we have a new Voting System.

Carpooling is available from the Party Office in Plano (972-578-1483).

This number is on your voter registration card in the box to the right of your birth year in the upper left quadrant of the card. If your registration card is not handy, go to this page to look up your precinct number:

There are 17 names on the ballot for president. This surprises many of us who assumed names were taken off the ballot as they dropped out. But names remain on the ballot if they didn’t withdraw by a December 9th deadline.

Our challenge here in Collin County is that 17 names will not fit on a single screen of our new ballot marking machines. The system has been programmed so (1) the presidential candidates are split between two screens and (2) selecting a candidate is not allowed until both screens have been viewed.

We have a demonstrator ballot on a machine in the party office if you would like to see how our presidential ballot will work.

Here are our 17 presidential candidates, in ballot order per a random drawing conducted by the party County Executive Committee:

The Anna-Melissa Democrats are excited to announce their third meet & greet of 2020.

Please join us as we welcome four new candidates to the area:

Courtney Brooks for Collin County Commissioner, Pct. 1

Lulu Seikaly Root for Congressional District 3

Dana Huffman for Judge

Mike Rawlins for County Chair, Collin County Democratic Party

You will be able to listen to their speeches, ask them questions, and socialize with others. Once again, light refreshments will be provided.

NOTE: This is at a personal residence, so we will work to make it as ADA-compliant as possible. If you need any special accommodations, feel free to reach out to us and we will ensure that these are met so you can attend the event in the most-hassle free way as possible. We will do our best to have refreshments available that will accommodate the widest range of food allergies and preferences, but please reach out if you need any special accommodations and we will work to accommodate them.

Join us to hear Dr. Misty Hook speak on the importance of being involved in local government. Local Candidates will be in attendance too, including those running for for the HD-89 seat. Early Voting is Feb.18!

Join Team Lulu for a community meet-and-greet at Layered Coffee & kitchen. Meet Lulu over some light hors d'oeuvres and refreshments, ask her the tough questions, and get to know your next Congresswoman. Hosted by theLiberal Women's Action Network.

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote at the Women Organizing Women Democrats 2020 Women of Courage Gala and Casino Night on Saturday, February 29 at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano.

We will donate 100% of our profits to our endorsed candidates of 2020.

Drinking Liberally and Living Liberally are informal, inclusive progressive social groups. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics.

*Note - Due to Valentines Day, the Plano and Wylie February meets have been cancelled. The March dates are on the calendar.